Stock-quotation system



Dec. 28, 1937. NELSON r 2,103,297

' STOCK QUOTATIQN SYSTEM Original Filed April 19, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet l 5TOCK-LE7'7EP KEYS L. lam-1 Harald E. Rn'bmlun Jul-m. I. BIuImH Dec. 28, 1937. ML, NELSON Er AL 2,103,291

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19. 1930 17 shets-shet 2 HIGH RES/5T1 NCE 17 Sheets-Sheet s l l l Imam-r; Hm I... Nil-D11 Harald C. Rubin-on Dec. 28, 1937. M. L. NELSON ET AL STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEH Originl Filed April 19. 1930 1 000 000 III lnlllllllllllllllllll. II II Dec. 28, 1937. M. 1.. NELSON ET AL STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM 17 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed April 19. 1930 5T0 CK- CODE EEG/5 TEES Dec. 28, 1937. M, L NELSON Er AL 2,103,297

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19, 1930 l7 Sheets-Sheet 5 DIG/7' KEYS STOCK-RANGE KEYS (7) (a) g g (I) (2) (3) LA HZ. L0 H/ 0P u/v vc wo FIG. ll FIG. /2 HG /3 F/G. FIG. F/G. F/G. .F/G.

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Harold C. Robinson Dec. 28, 193 7.

M. L. NELSON El AL 2,103,297

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet 6 709 If/ F19.

STOCK-RANGE PEG/575k PEG/STEP SET IrTrTlE-T r m L. Nlllcm Harald C. Habit-mun Jul-Ln I. Baum-n3 Dec. 28, '1937. M L NELSON HAL 2,103,291

' STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet 7 PQ/CE EEG/$7525 677 MFR-'1. cm. Hlru'ld C. Habit-mun Jab-n I. Bill-E3 Dec. 28, 1937. M. 1.. NELSON El AL STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed ril 19, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 l Im.mn urn T rm L. Nelson Har'u'ld I: Rn'binsnn Jul-m I. EIIHI Dec. 28, 1937. M. L. NELSON El AL swocx QUOTATION SYSTEM ori inal Filed April 19. 1950 17 Sheets-Sheet 9 v Hlr'u'la. C. Ru'hinlnn Jul-m I. Emu-m {FIIF Dec. 28, 1937. M. NELSON ET AL STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19, 1930 1'! sheets-sheet 10 v I I E Maia \SEN QN I5; 0

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STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet l1 I Mm L.Nl1lun Harold 1:. Rabin-an Jul-m LBIHIITLH /7/ I Dec. 28, 1937.

Dec. 28, 1937. NELSON r AL 2,103,297

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet '12 rm mm L.NI]IDH Harold C. Rubin-nu Jul-m I. Bantu-1 Dec. 28, 1937. M. L NELSON El AL 2,103,297

STOCK QUOTATION S'YSTEM Original Fiied April 19, 1950 17 Sheets-Sheet 13 3% RON\ HHHFJHHHH- Piliwiil Dec. 28, 1937. M. L. NELSON El AL STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM LEel'llm L. Nl'lsnn. Harald C. Robinson John Dec. 28, 1937. M. NELSON El AL STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed April 19. 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet l6 1 Hi \NMW\ u m QQQ m m m ldfl u i LE U d n 1M1 "J n llq u H LIIruIL 1 m AL ti *T J a 1 7 n H v \I. LT LU. T U u D I r A FITLILEV O Q O V ll I n II L W h 4 al I I I 1 sm\ RQ II a .h I w w H H b M W P: Rs ETEI g was an M62 L h: S S 3 I M \wQ m8 m3 $8 $9 mm$ g 3 i i NW1 1 4 w w r q f k I will? u f w W 9:33 uuzwm $68.0 W m: as [A 88 Dec. 28,1937. NELSON r AL 2,103,297

STOCK QUOTATION SYSTEM Original Filed Apfril 19; 1950 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 A B C D RECEIVER cons wn k qwwnmog TEANSM/ TTE'R C ODE unwnwn omo 1mm MEI? L. Nl'llun Hlr'cl'lc'l E. Habit-mun Jul-m. I. E IIIIIILH Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,103,297 's'rocx ouo'm'rron SYSTEM Martin L. Nelson, Park Ridge, 111., Harold 0. Robinson, Baltimore, Md'., and John I. Bellamy,

. Brookfield, 111.,

Original application A assignors, ments, to Associated Electric Chicago, 111., a corporation by mesne assign- Laboratories, Inc., oi Delaware pril 19, I930, Serial No.

445,746. Divided and this application March 26, 1931, Serial No. 525,476.' Renewed May 20 Claims.

The present invention relates to stock-quotation systems in general, but is concerned more particularly with systems of this kind wherein a central-station transmitter or register sender transmits stock-quotation signals to a number of stock-quotation receivers or display boards.

This application is a division of our application Serial No. 445,746, filed April 19, 1930. In the parent application, the main object, broadly stated, is the production of a. new and improved transmitting and receiving system suitable fo transmitting information regarding the selling price of stocks so that such prices may be received and set up on indicators at a plurality of points.

This divisional application covers the novel features of the new and improved receiver or display indicator, one of which is provided at each place whereat the transmitted quotations are to be received and displayed.

The system herein disclosed is similar in certain respects to the system disclosed in the application of Bellamy et al. Serial No. 378,208, filed July 15, 1929, and to the system disclosed in the application of Bellamy, Serial No. 413,205, filed December 11, 1929. As pointed out in these prior applications, it is customary for a stockbroker to have a so-called stock ticker in his oflice from which a tape slowly'unwinds, giving the selling prices of the active stocks. The broker has an at-. tendant who reads the tape and marks down on a blackboard the prices of such stocks as the broker deals in, so that the waiting customers may see the trend of the market. In addition to showing the last selling price in a space provided under the name of a given stock, the blackboard shows yesterdays closing price, todays opening price, the high price of the day, andthe low price of the day.

General description tioned prior applications, to provide a single point I at which the desired information can be recorded and to provide an automatically-operated indicator in each brokers ofiice controlled from a separate transmitter at the single recording point.

It is proposed further in the said prior appli-' listed by means of the letters of the alphabet,

some stocks being represented by a single letter, some by two, and others. by three. In order to .make a division of stocks between the two operators, all stocks represented by the letters A to K may be assigned to one operator, as well as all stocks of two or three letters of. which the first letter is A to K. The second operator takes care of the sales involving the stocks L to Z and the plural-letter stocks whose designations begin with any one of the letters L to Z.

Certain outstanding features that distinguish the present system from the systems disclosed in the above-mentioned prior applications are as follows:

1. In the transmitter, instead of providing translating relays permanently connected to the stock-letter registers with a plurality of separate circuits carried by the contacts of each translating relay, stock translating relays arranged to be individual to the respective stocks are provided in a number estimated to be sufiicient to meet the requirements, and arrangements are provided for shifting the connections of the individual stock relays from time to time as stocks appearing in the market are removed and other stocks are added.

2. In order to increase the speed at which the digits representing stock quotations can be transmitted, two conductors are provided between the transmitter and the receiver, and impulses of two polarities are sent over the two conductors, enabling four digits to be transmitted in the same time as one.

closure contains a number ot novel features, having to do for the most part with the detailed workings of the system, which can be understood best in connection with a description of the operation. 1

Description of drawings 4 Referring now to the drawings comprising Figs. 1-21, they show by means of the usual circuit diagrams and mechanical drawings a trans-' mitting and receiving system embodying the features of the invention. More in particular, Figs. 1-9 show a transmitter which may be designated as the transmitter Tl; Fig. 10 indicates the trans- I -40 In addition to the foregoing, the present dis- 2 v mitters T2, T3, and T4, together with a few of the plurality of receivers; Figs. 10-16 show circuit drawings of one of the receivers, RE3; Figs. 17 and 18"indicate mechanical details of a stock register used in the receiver; Fig. 19 is a table showing the code according to which the transmitter is operated; Fig. 20 shows the code accordingto which the local sender in the receiver is operated; and- Fig. 21, appearing on the lower part of the same sheet with Fig. 5, is a layout of Figs. 1 to 16. I

The transmitter vidual stock relays of Fig. 3, as well as the inter-- mediate distributing frames IDF-I and IDF2. The price registers for registering the price (at which a current stock transaction took place) under the control of the digit keys of Fig. comprises the price registers shown in Fig. '7. The price register PH registers the price-hundreds digit; the register PT registers the price-tens digit; the register PU registers the price units; and the register PF registers the price-fractions digit. These designations hold true in case a full price quotation is sent, but the arrangement varies somewhat in case a lesser number of price digits is sent as will be hereinafter explained. The stock-code registers, shown in Fig. 4, are

set from the translating apparatus of Figs. 2 and 3 through the intermediate distributing frames IDF-I and IDF-Z, and they comprise the stockhundreds register SH, the stockrtens register ST, and the stock-units register SU. It,may be further pointed out that a so-called stock-range indication (to be later explained) is registered on the stock-range register SR of Fig. 6 under control of the range keys of Fig. 5, and that a pricerange registration is set up automatically by the action of the transfer relays, 'IIlI, I03, I05, and I01, associated with the price registers of Fig. '7.

It will be noted that the lower portion of Fig. 6 includes a rectangle labelled register set #2." This register set'#2 contains a duplicate of the equipment shown in Figs. 4 and '7, of the equipment of Fig. 6, shown above, and the relays 6M and Eli. The two register. sets are arranged to be used alternately so that a second registration may be set up immediately following the first and while the first is held stored on the first register set and is being transmitted. The relays 6H and M5 are common to the two registers and are arranged to switch from one register to another automatically at the end of a registration so as to automatically switch the next register into service.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is the sending apparatus and it sends digit impulses under the control of the two register sets shown in Figs. 4, 6, and 7. The impulses transmitted by the sender of Figs. 8 and Q go out over the conductors 85I-854 and are repeated to the several receiving stations by the repeater RI, Fig. 10, as will be hereinafter explained.

The receiver In the receiver, Figs. 11-16, the polarized impulse relays IlIlI--I40l respond to impulses sent out by the transmitter of Figs.'l-9 and repeated by the repeater RI, Fig. 10, and send impulses to set the primary or receiving registers-of Fig. 11, SI-IPH, ST-PT, SU-PU, and SR,-PF. These primary registers, in turn, transfer the received digits to the stock and price secondary registers or storage devices of Fig. 12. The stock registers of Fig. 12 are labeled SH, ST, SU, and SR. Theyare the hundreds, tens, units, and range registers, respectively. The price registers are labeled PH, PT, PU, and PF. They are the hundreds, tens, units, and fractions registers, respectively.

Fig. 13 shows the stock-relay hundreds selector comprising relays I30I-I3I0, of which the relays I3 0I, I302, and I3) only are shown; together with the associated terminals provided below the relays for suitable interconnection between the relay contactsand the stock relays, such as the stock relay I6. The stock relays are divided into ten groups of not more than one hundred relays a group, and the relays of Fig. 13 are operated in accordance with. the stockhundreds digit to select the hundreds group in which a stock relay is to be operated.

Each stock on the receiving board is represented by twenty registers, such as the register RI, :Figs. 1'7 and 18, Fig. 18 being a front view. These registers are arranged in five horizontal rows, four to a row. The top row (YC) indicates yesterday's closing price; the next row (OP) indicates todays opening price; the next row (HI) indicates todays high price; the next row (LO) indicates todays low price; and the bottom row (LA) shows the last price at which the stock sold. The stock-range relays I655 and I659, operated under the control of the stockrange register SR, Fig. (assisted by the combination relays IBM-4654) correspond, respectively, to the rows of stock registers above named. If the relay I659 alone is operated, the incoming price digits are transmitted to the top row only of the registers, the other relays I655-I658 controlling the other rows, respectively.

Fig. shows the local sender which operates under the control of the price registers of Fig.

12 to send impulses to the stock registers, Fig. 16.

Detailed description The system having been described generally, a detailed description of the operation of the apparatus shown will now be given. For this purpose, a description will be given of the operations involved when the operator at the transmitter TI, shown-in Figs. 1 to 8, and 8A sets up a quotation on her key set, of which the stock-letter keys are shown in Fig. 1, and the digit keys and range keys are shown in Fig. 5.

It will be assumed that the register set #1, comprising the registering apparatus of Figs. 4 and 7, and of the upper portion of Fig. 6, is in service at this time, this being true because the relay 6 is energized, as shown, and because the relay H5 is deenergized, as shown. It will be Stock registration To set up this number, BBA1041LA, the operator first operates the letter key B of Fig. 1. These keys, it will be understood, are non-locking keys of the push-button type, being arranged so that, when the operator, having depressed a key to close the contacts thereof, releases the key, the'operating plunger returns to normal, and the contacts of the key open.

When the key B is pushed, a circuit is closed from ground through the contacts of the key and through contacts of the normally-energized connecting relay 202 for the register relay B of the stock register SRI. Relay B energizes and at its inner-upper armature closes a locking circuit for itself throughthe transfer-relay 20I from the grounded conductor 250, which is grounded through contacts of relays 201, 206, and 209. The locking circuit for relay B does not become effective, and relay 20I remains short circuited and deenergized, as long as the key B of Fig. 1 is held depressed; but, when the key B is released, the short circuit is removed from around relay 2M and it energizes in series with relay B and opens the circuit of relay 202 and closes a circuit for connecting-relay 204 through the inner armature of relay 203. Relay 204 pulls up, and relay 202 falls back anddisconnects the conductors of the keys A to R from the storage relays A to R of the stock register SRI. It will be noted, of course, that only the relays A, B, and R of this set are shown and that only the corresponding contacts of relay 202 are shown. It will'be understood that the intervening relays are connected up in the same manner as those shown. A similar curtailment occurs in the case of the registers SR2 and SR3, and in each case, it has been for the purpose of simplifying the drawings.

When the operator depresses the stock-letter key B to register the second stock letter B, a circuit is closed through contacts of relay 204 of the stock register SR2 for the B relay in this stock register. It will be noted that this relay is designated B. This indicates that the. operation of this relay registers the second letter of a stock, and that the first letter may be any one of several. When the relay B operates, it closes at its inner-upper armaturev a locking circuit for itself to the said grounded conductor 250 by way of the transfer relay 203. Relay 203 is accordingly operated when the key B of Fig. 1 is allowed to restore, and it transfers the operating ground from relay 204 to relay 206 by Way of contacts of the transfer relay 205. Accordingly, relay 204 falls back and disconnects the stock-letter keys A to Z from the second-letter storage relays --A to Z, and relay 206 energizes through contacts of relays 20I, 203, and 205, and connects the stock-letter keys A to Z to the third-letter relays --A to Z of the stock register SR3. The relays of the register SR3 are designated in this manner to indicate that they are the third letter relays and that the first two letters are variable letters; that is, either one of the first two letters may be any one of a plurality.

When the operator depresses the key A of Fig. 1 to register the third letter A, a circuit is closed through contacts of relay 206 for the relay A,

which operates and at its inner-upper armature closes a locking circuit for itself through relay 205 to the grounded conductor 250. Accordingly, transfer relay 205 operates in series with relay A when the A key is released, and at its inner armature it disconnects relay 206 and allows it to fall back and disconnect the stock-letter keys from the associated relays -A to --Z.

The stock BBA, concerning which the quotation is about to be transmitted, has now been identified on the registering apparatus of Fig. 2 by the above-described energization of relay B of the stock register SRI, of relay B of the stock register SR2, and of the relay --A of the stock register SR3. This three-letter registration is to .be subsequently translated by the translating apparatus of Fig. 3 into a pre-assigned three-digit code in a manner to be hereinafter pointed out.

Price registration Referring now to Figs. 5, 6, and 7, when the operator depresses the digit-key I, Fig. 5, to register the price-hundreds digit 1 of the price designation I04I, a circuit is closed from ground through the three contact pairs of the digit key I over conductors SM, 502, and 503, for the storage relays A, B, and C (see code table, Fig, 19), of the price-hundreds register PH, Fig. 7, through contacts of connecting relay I02, which latter relay is energized through contacts of transfer relay IOI from the grounded conductor 601, conductor 60! being supplied with ground potential through the lower armature of the energized relay 6| 4 of Fig. 6. When relays A, B, and C of PH operate, they close locking circuits for themselves at their inner armatures through transfer relay ml. to the grounded conductor 606,, conductor 606 being grounded at this time through the normally-closed contacts controlled by the upper armature of relay 6I5, conductor ml, and the lower contacts of the error relay 209, Fig. 2. As a result, when the digit key I of Fig. is allowed to restore, the locking circuit for relays A, B, and C becomes effective, and

relay 10I energizes therein and transfers the grounded conductor 60! from relay 102 to the connecting relay I04, through contacts 'of the transfer relay 103. Accordingly, relay I02 falls back and disconnects the key conductors 50 I504 from the relays A to D of the price-hundreds register PH, and relay I04 operates and connects these conductors to the corresponding relays of the price-tens register PT.

When the operator depresses the digit key 0 to set up the price-tens digit, a circuit is closed from ground over conductor 503 and through contacts of connecting relay I04 for relay C of the price-tens register PT. Relay C operates and locks itself at its inner armature to the grounded conductor 606 by way of the transfer relay I03. Relay I03, accordingly, energizes when the digit key 0 is restored, and it transfers the operating conductor 601 from connecting relay I04 to the connecting relay 106 by way of contacts of the transfer relay I05. Relay I04 accordingly falls ,back and relay 106 operates, andconductors 50 I 504 are disconnected from therelays of the register PT and are connected to the relays A to D of the register PU.

When the operator depresses the digitv key 4 to 

